Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Mid-year reports for all children will be sent home today, Thursday, 16th of June.

Teaching programs at Lihir International School are determined by the mandated expectations of the Australian Curriculum and grading system guidelines are set out by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA), due to our licensing agreement with Education Queensland International.

In preparation for these reports, it is important to consider the 5 point scale grading system used for reporting of student achievement. A good starting point is to revisit the understanding of the C or WW achievement grade. C or WW means that the student has achieved the expected level of understanding of a subject for their year level and shows that the child has met expectations of the Australian Curriculum in that area of study, at this point in time.

In other words — if your child is graded a C or WW, they are achieving what is expected for a child of their year level in that particular subject. The C or WW grade is not a cause for concern.

Table 1: P–2 reporting standards describing children’s achievement using a five-point scale

This grading system means that a high percentage of students will be graded in the C or WW range of achievement and students achieving a higher grade than C or WW will have to have consistently demonstrated a high or very high level of knowledge and understanding in the subject throughout the first two terms of this academic year.

Assessment and reporting is an ongoing process for all teachers and this ensures that teachers are constantly aware of student progress which enables them to set appropriate learning tasks for all students.

Term 3 Resumption -  Term 3 will commence on Monday, 11th July.

Do not hesitate to make contact If you have any further queries or questions.

Regards,

Mr Greg Neville

Organisation is currently underway for a Netball Carnival to be held here at LIS on the weekend of 6th/7th August. We have invited OLSH to participate and we are expecting to have primary (years 4-6) and high school (years 7-9) teams competing. Our LIS students have started training and enjoying having the opportunity to play netball again!

The first women's training session was held last Tuesday evening and training will continue over the holiday break on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6.00pm. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner, you are most welcome. Please see Maria Hosea if you need any further information.

In line with company policy, good hygiene and social distancing practices will continue to be implemented in the school during Term 1 2022. Please read the points below carefully. Thank you to all members of the STM/LIS community for your patience and commitment in ensuring that we keep our children and island safe.

1. It is imperative that parents and carers do not send their children to school if they are sick or showing any symptoms of a cold or flu. If your child is sick, please keep your child home and seek appropriate medical attention. Children who display any signs of sickness will be isolated under supervision in the school's sick bay and parents called to come and collect them.

2. Entrance to school for students and parents / carers will be via the Aginas Oval gate only, which will open at 7.45am. Students who arrive before this (which is discouraged) are to wait in the carpark undercover area until 7.45am. Students should be at school by 8.00am, ready to start the day at 8.10am.

3. On arrival all students are to wash their hands at the wash station and then proceed to the undercover area. Parents will be permitted to escort their children to the undercover area / classroom and pick them up at the end of the day. Parents will also need to wash their hands after entering school. If parents need to go to the office or see a teacher, they are permitted to proceed to the wash station and are then to make their way straight to the school office or to the relevant classroom. Parents and High School students are to have a face mask ready to use when social distancing is not possible

4.  Students will be required to wash their hands in the mornings, before school and before and after recess/lunch.

5. All desks, door handles, playground equipment and other high contact equipment will be sanitised twice daily or after use by cleaning staff.

6. Social distancing will be employed in classrooms through desk arrangements. Social distancing markings have been painted on cement areas where students line up and in the undercover area for recess/lunch eating times. The school will implement staggered lunch and recess breaks between the primary and high school to reduce the number of children in the eating area at one time.

7. High School students will each be issued with a reusable washable mask. Students will be required to use these masks for activities where social distancing is not possible.

8. Students will need to bring a packed recess and lunch each day - there is to be no dropping off of lunches by parents, siblings or haus meris. Students are also asked to bring a water bottle to school that they will refill. 

10. In Term 1 on Mondays, separate primary and high school assemblies will be held in the basketball court, employing social distancing measures. On Fridays, there will be a whole school assembly on the basketball court that parents are welcome to attend. Social distancing measures will be  employed.

Term 1: 31st  January – 31st March 

Term 2: 19th April – 16th June 

Term 3: 11th July – 15th September 

Term 4: 3rd October – 1st December 

Year 8 / 10 Holiday Remedial Classes 

Thank you to Mr Joseph Takaundo from the STMC who will be running remedial classes over the first two weeks of the holidays for our year 8 and 10 students. We anticipate all students attend these important sessions unless families are going away on holidays. Exams are quickly approaching and we want our students to be as best prepared as possible. A note has been distributed to students as to their timetable for these sessions.

Athletics Carnival

It has been great to see our school returning back to a more normal routine, with students enjoying the Athletics Carnival on Wednesday. Thanks to Mr McKeiver, LIS staff and the parent community for making it a fun-filled event and it was wonderful to see the excellent sportsmanship displayed by our students. Congratulations to the winning Kumuls house! Next term, we look forward to our Swimming Carnival!

End of Semester 1

It is hard to believe that semester 1 has come to an end! It has been a busy semester, full of a lot of hard work and student learning! I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday break and look forward to seeing everyone at the start of term 3, on Monday 11th July.

Kind regards,

Ms Langusch 

Our Work Ready Program Trainees finish this Friday. We congratulate all 15 on the progress they have made throughout the program. Their commitment to the program and their growth in confidence is to be commended.

Next Saturday, 25th June, we welcome our Academic Support students from Lihir Secondary to meet with participants of Newcrest’s Graduate Program. This is an opportunity for both groups to discuss their story and for our graduates to provide insight and support to the young students who are undertaking year 11 and 12.

Over the holidays, Mr Takaundo will work with our Year 8 and 10 students to assist with their National Exam preparation.

Our FODE students and Elementary Teachers from across Lihir continue to work on their distance education with the support of our STMC Staff.

Please note the Kisim Save Library is open for use by all Newcrest Employees and Townsite Residents. Please email SchoolToMineCampus@newcrest.com.au to book a time to come.

I wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday. 

Regards, 

Mr. Kevin Collins